'Don't make this about me': CNN host scolds lawmaker defending 10 Commandments vote
CNN host Boris Sanchez kept his cool Thursday while asking a Louisiana state representative not to make his interview with her about a new 10 Commandments law personal.
Sanchez began the interview by explaining that State Representative Lauren Ventrella (R) had agreed to discuss the bill she co-authored, which would require schools to display the Ten Commandments. It was signed into law Thursday.
"This is a historical document that's important in Louisiana because, in Louisiana, we believe in faith, family, and freedom," she announced to Sanchez. "And that is why I voted in favor of this bill."
"But you also recognize that the Constitution of this country, its founding document, doesn't include the word God or Jesus or Christianity," the CNN host pushed back. "And that's for a reason, because the founding fathers founded this country as a secular one."
That's when the interview turned personal, according to Sanchez.
"I bet you CNN pays you a lot of money, and I bet you got a bunch of dollars," Ventrella said.
"What does this have to do with the network that I work for or what I'm getting paid?" Sanchez interrupted. "Don't make this about that. Answer the question."
"Why did the founding fathers not include God in the Constitution if they wanted this country to be the way that you see it?" he pressed.
ALSO READ: High on politics? Feds press Green Party presidential candidate on payment to weed church
"Let me finish my statement and your wallet," Ventrella demanded.
"Don't make this about me," Sanchez remarked.
Ventrella went on to explain that dollars have the "In God We Trust" motto to defend forcing schools to display the Ten Commandments.
"It's merely posting a historical reference on the wall for students to read and interpret it if they choose," she said.
"It's not about me, and it's not about the amount of money in my wallet," Sanchez said, concluding the interview.